


does bird talks

by orphan_account



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: M/M, shit do i fucking love birds
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-07
Updated: 2015-11-03
Packaged: 2018-03-16 18:47:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,956
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3499019
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>remember those gay penguins that tried to hatch a rock</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Spring

Spring is his favourite time of year, Kageyama thinks.

It's warm, but not too warm that the air is too hot and heavy to enjoy himself, and his feathers aren't moulting during the spring like they will in the summer, so overall, it's a nice season. The nice food, like earthworms and fresh seeds are starting to grow in abundance rather than diminish like in the autumn, so he's not living off stale bread and whatever dead things he can find, and it's pleasant to have a full belly for once.

The other bonus is that, when the sun is coming up early, he can get up early too. He'd made his nest, together with his partner (who, as he'd hoped, was currently curled up nice and tight and sleeping) in the hollow of a dead tree that, slowly, had it's inner bark near the stump - not too close that a wandering fox or cat could reach in easily - carved and eaten and, in places, pecked, making an entrance just large enough for a crow to squeeze through and a hollow space inside cosy and warm enough to happily house two of them. It's in the shade so the sun filters through nicely, dappled by leaves and branches from other trees and plants but not blocked out so much they couldn't tell what time of day it was. It was a nice home, all in all. Kageyama was proud he'd found it.

With a bit of stretching (being the larger of the two going in and out was always more difficult for him) Kageyama managed to worm his way through the hole and out into the open, careful to be quiet so as not to wake his snoozing mate prematurely. The early morning air was a bit chilly, though Kageyama suspected it would warm up before long. It would be nice to stretch out his wings in warm air after such a long winter.

The tree where he'd made his home was situated close by some convenient resources; shallow running river pools, clear water tasty enough to drink - and no mud, which was always a plus - homes of small animals which had just started to raise young and, hopefully, a couple of the weaker ones would make a nice snack down the line, if Kageyama could be bothered to sneak in. Fortunately there were other things - like seeds, left behind by plants that had just started to reproduce, and worms and insects starting their own morning routines - to feed on before he had to worry about that, so the baby bunnies were safe (for now).

Once he'd eaten his own fill on the scrawnier looking things - if he didn't eat them, someone else would, no point in wasting good food - he put some extra time in finding nicer, plumper, more appetising snacks to take back to the nest, as much as he could fit in his beak, alongside whatever seeds he could find (his partner liked those) and anything else, soft and downy, that wouldn't slip through his talons that would make their nest more comfortable than it already was. If he did say so himself.

"Hinata," He chirped, in greeting, through a mouthful of food, once he'd popped his head back through into the nest, perched happily on the bark of the entrance-hole after depositing the molten fur and downy baby bird feathers by his mate's feet. The other crow rearranged it as he pleased, snuggling down into the warmth before peeking up at Kageyama expectantly.

"Is that for me?" He asked, hopefully, cocking his head to one side and puffing up his chest.  _Adorable_ , Kageyama thinks, wriggling back to Hinata's side and giving his neck an affectionate scratch, which Hinata accepts happily, leaning into it, accompanying the action with a cheerful whistle.

Kageyama nods, leaning close so that their beaks bonk together. "Yeah." is all he says, snuggling further into Hinata's warm feathers. He'd gotten cold from being outside, of course, he just wanted to get warm, not cuddle with his mate or anything.

Hinata makes a happy kind of whistle, high from his throat, picking out any still-wriggling insects and eating those first so Kageyama could dump the seeds down in front of them and break them apart to make them easier to eat. "You could have let me go." Hinata points out, through a mouthful of worm. "It's so cold in the mornings still... Couldn't you wait?"

"You can't go," Kageyama replies, gruff, nudging the seeds over to Hinata with a grunt. "If we're going to pretend, we have to pretend properly, dumbass."

Hinata tilts his head to the side, again, shoving his beak right into his breakfast but side-glancing at Kageyama the whole time. "What do you mean?" He asks - Kageyama's looking at him, grumpy but fond, as he gets bits of seed all over his face, sticking comically to his feathers. 

"I mean," Kageyama starts, nudging Hinata to the side, knocking them both over something hard. "The... Kids. The kids." Of course, both being boys, they couldn't produce any real, tangible eggs, that would actually hatch into something they could feed and care for, so they'd collected four large-ish stones from the river, egg shaped enough to make the illusion feel more believable. Seemingly having forgotten, Hinata squeaked in alarm, immediately wriggling himself back over the stones before they got cold. 

"Oh yeah," he says, dumbly. Kageyama rolls his eyes in response turning his head and wriggling so he could groom under Hinata's chin, where the majority of the mess was. "I miss looking for breakfast together, though..." The weather was nice again, sunny enough to actually enjoy flying and not so much wind that the smaller crow felt like he was being battered around. He probably needed to stretch his wings, Kageyama thought, moving up to one of his cheeks to clean up his feathers there.

"A couple more days," Kageyama murmurs, lifting a wing so Hinata could tuck himself under it. "If it's warmer when the sun's all the way up," he starts, knocking their heads together carefully until Hinata's wriggling his head into Kageyama's neck, chirping tenderly and scratching against it, "we'll go find dinner together, okay? The, uh, eggs'll stay warm if we're quick."

It was weird pretending, sometimes, Kageyama thinks. It wasn't like this was new - two springs ago Hinata had suggested it, wistful for a roost like the one he'd grown up in where the fledgelings stayed year after year, and it had become routine for the two of them, to the point where the masquerade was very nearly second nature if not still a little bit awkward.

It's worth it, though, for how happy it makes Hinata, how he tenderly cares for a bunch of rocks like he really had laid them himself and there were tiny Kageyamas-and-Hinatas inside waiting to be hatched, how he lets Kageyama feed him (he never used to, he was too stubborn) and groom him and snuggled closer and closer until it was almost like Kageyama was incubating Hinata, too. 

Hinata still seems warm and tired, though it's unsurprising considering he just woke up. Kageyama doesn't want to move away from him, yet, though he probably needs to patrol their territory soon, and definitely not while he's tired and defenceless. "Go back to sleep," He says softly, then. It's still early, he thinks, the sun's not completely up; he hasn't heard any of the smaller birds singing their stupid songs to wake them up yet, so, he supposes, it's safe. "I'll be here."

Hinata seems grateful, wriggling more effectively under Kageyama's feathers and yawning. "I love you," He chirps, face turned into Kageyama's chest and nuzzling into it affectionately, which Kageyama responds to by lifting his talons and giving his neck another gentle scratch, protectively securing his mate to his body.

"You're an idiot," Kageyama says gently, but it's the same as I love yous, to them, even if he doesn't say it until a moment later, when he's tugging down over Hinata's snoozing body and, sitting up straighter, keeping a watchful eye on the outside world.

He thinks, with Hinata being warm and pliant and gentle, when breakfast is a more quiet affair with less fighting over scraps and arguing over whose carrion is whose or what direction it was to their winter nest, Spring is Kageyama's favourite time of year.


	2. Summer

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't mean to do this so quickly but ill try and have autumn and winter done soon too maybe

It's been some time since Kageyama felt this warm, but, he supposes, summer does that to you.

Of course, there were several other factors to consider. There had been some... Neighbours moving closer to their nest, complaining of the noise of teenagers who kept trying to play in the woods (baby birds were even louder so he didn't know why they were complaining). 

Hinata had befriended them, though, after he'd given up on rock-sitting for the spring, choosing to hop around with Kageyama and bother him instead of quietly sitting in their nest and preening like Kageyama wished he would instead of meeting the neighbours, but it wasn't like Kageyama could do anything when Hinata was set on something.

Their neighbour, he learnt - or, one of them - was called Tanaka. He was a loud, boisterous bird, even more so than Hinata (on top of being larger) with more kids than he could count - to the dismay of Kageyama, who wasn't keen on the noise they made during the day.

The bonus to such an incredibly fertile neighbour, however, did not become apparent until a particularly cold day in the still-early days of Spring and, as it turned out, Tanaka and his mate couldn't keep all their eggs warm.

("we have loads, anyway," Tanaka had said at the time, looking mournfully at the three cooling eggs, "we lose a few every year." but Kageyama wasn't going to have any of it.)

That brought Kageyama to summer, eventually, their nest full and boiling with the extra body heat of three very fluffy, miniature crows, all just as loud as each other.

"It's too early," Kageyama groaned, already sweltering in the early morning when it was supposed to be cooler. He had been driven into an early moult in late Spring, too, and the extra nest lining wasn't helping. 

Hinata seemed to appreciate the comfort, though, hence why they didn't just take it out. "They won't stop crying until they've eaten," he groans, stretching out his tired wings. As if to confirm, a chorus of  "yeah dad"'s and "im sooo hungry" screeched straight into Kageyama's ears.

He was beginning to think they should have stuck to the rocks.

Kageyama doesn't know how Tanaka does this, year after year. He wonders if it gets easier, but does it lose the magic when it does? He doesn't know. All he does know is there was something special about it, at first.

He remembers it being cold and windy, and he was worried the eggs would die before he could even get them home, and he kept having to stop to warm them just in case. He'd been back to the nest late that night and in the morning Hinata had fussed over him something awful, whimpering and fretting that something had eaten him and he'd be all alone again.

As if Kageyama would ever do that to him.

It had been a tricky operation, swapping three of the stones with real, actual eggs without waking Hinata up, but the smaller bird was a heavy sleeper and didn't seem to notice. It was worth it when, days later, Kageyama returned from foraging and Hinata was tearful and squeaking and fussing over three tiny heads. Their three tiny heads.

It was pretty magical, honestly, if Kageyama wanted to be sappy about it. Up until he realised they needed to be fed every ten minutes, dawn til dusk, every day.

Fortunately such hectic days had passed and their children had grown; though they had learnt to fly already, their roost was much too small to protect itself efficiently out in the open, so Kageyama and Hinata had to stick to a routine of solo expeditions to get food.

As usual, Kageyama fed himself first, before collecting as much as he could to take home, saving something extra nice (a young rabbit, poor thing, had obviously - well - expired, but it would make a nice meal for his tired mate and he wasn't going to waste it) for Hinata before heading back to their nest.

"We should have stuck to the rocks." Hinata yawns, tired but content, as he nibbles away at his breakfast and Kageyama tucks moulten feathers around his tiny body.

"Mm." Kageyama assents, grooming any mess from Hinata's cheeks. "Too warm? Still cold?"

Hinata settles into the down. It smells of Kageyama. "Perfect!" He chirps happily, even as three full, plump chicks make him even warmer as they settle for a nap around him. 

Hinata's gentle with them, and it's endearing. He tucks them under his wing like Kageyama always does to him, protecting them from sight and from warm breezes. 

"We'll do rocks again next year." Kageyama promises, shifting so as to administer a full-body cleaning down Hinata's feathers.

Hinata shakes his head, nibbling thoughtfully on a piece of meat. "I like this more," He says, quietly, because they've learnt if there's one trait they got from their biological father it's that they're super cranky when they wake up. "It's hard, but I like it! Don't you think?"

Kageyama's not convinced, but deep down, he knows he'll do whatever Hinata wants, anyway, because he can't resist him if he tries. "I'd steal a hundred eggs if it made you happy, stupid." 

"You're the stupid one!" Hinata caws, indignant, but there's a soft look in his eyes as Kageyama grooms the top of his head. "You're stupid if you think you don't make me happy every single day. Feathers for brains."

Kageyama would have blushed, if birds could blush, but he hides in his feathers anyway, ruffling them in that way that tickles Hinata's sides.

Kageyama hates, most years, how hot and sticky summer makes him feel, how the air is too heavy to fly properly and how the ground burns his feet when he lands on it. This year, though, he feels a different kind of warm, one that seeps through his toes and his wings and from Hinata and it's warmer than he's ever felt, but --

He thinks he likes this kind of warm.


	3. Autumn

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Listen mostly I just wanted to get this chapter out of the way because the winter one is the good shit and I wanna finish this fic kind of quickly so I can work on lemon tart the fanfiction and dedicate my whole life to it sorry this is highly shitty peace out my lads
> 
> Also look at this cute fanart someone drew of just birds being dudes http://anmayaoi.tumblr.com/post/120077453028/based-on-this

Fall, though similar to spring, never quite held the same degree of fondness in Kageyama's heart.

Quite frankly, fall was irritating. Nothing was as fresh as it used to be and even their nest is feeling a little rough and crinkly from fallen leaves and other dead plants; it's not as easy to find food when everything has been hidden away by animals preparing for hibernation or otherwise buried under piles and piles of sunset-coloured leaves.

Hinata and the kids don't seem quite so bothered; the leaves seem fun to play in, for them, the cracking being a source of great joy. For some reason.

"We'll have to make our way to the winter nest, soon." Kageyama suggests when it's starting to get too cold. The forest isn't the best place to hang around when it's cold; even if they don't totally migrate somewhere completely different where it's summery and warm, at least there's more food, and heating.

Hinata seems fidgety. "We've never had to take anyone else before," he says, quietly, referring to the pile of three fuzzy black balls a little ways away from their own private cuddle. "It's - a long way, and it's cold... I don't want to lose them."

He's whispering, so Kageyama knows he's serious - of course he is; they never joke about such things. "We'll lose them if we stay here all winter." Kageyama argues. He can already feel the biting chill of autumn evenings prickling under his feathers and against his skin, even where his winter fluff is coming in and he (and Hinata, too) is more fluffy than usual. 

He snuggles up into said fluff in an attempt to comfort the smaller bird, scritching and scratching his neck.

"Tanaka makes the same sort of trip every year and he's got just as many kids as he always does." Kageyama reasons. "We've got each other. It'll be fine. I promise."

Hinata whistled back, telling Kageyama he appreciated the sentiment but, stubborn as he was, still worried and wouldn't argue on the matter. Kageyama understood, really. They were as stubborn as each other on all matters; the flight ahead would be full of arguments, Kageyama's sure.

"We'll go tomorrow." Hinata sighs, sounding defeated, after a while. Kageyama cuddled closer, tucking Hinata under his wing to keep him safe from the breeze that threatened to breach their nest. It wasn't as cosy as it had been in spring, all feathers and fur and fresh leaves; it was too dead, now, crunchy and dry and cold. "It'll be nicer there... I guess." 

"You know it will be, stupid." Kageyama snorts, shuffling the two of them closer to their brood before they got too cold. They weren't as young as they used to be, far from it; they were nearly the same size as their adoptive parents, and Tanaka being the size he was, they may even get bigger. Though there was still youth about them - an unknowing of the world, a naïvety akin to Hinata's freshened by a lack of experience. 

It's annoying, sometimes.

"Everything's going to be just fine," Kageyama reiterates. "Shou, there'll be plenty of food there, and it'll be warm and dry. You have a good time whenever we go, so stop whining about having to leave, okay?"

Hinata nodded solemnly, pawing at the ground of their nest with one foot. Mostly, he's kicking up dust. Kageyama hopes they'll find time to dust it out a little when they get back.

"Kageyama!" Hinata says, kind of suddenly, jolting up and shocking Kageyama into a screech. He looks determined, so it isn't good, probably. "It's late, I know, but - can we go look for food together? You and me? For a little while." He pleads; it's not as bad an idea as Kageyama was thinking, albeit a little stupid.

"Okay." Kageyama says, thinking maybe stretching his wings would stop them from freezing off in his sleep. "We can do that." 

Hinata looks happy, bouncing over to the tree-hole they exit and enter from, popping out easily before Kageyama forces himself through with a grunt. When they take off, they take off together; they're in sync, as always, Hinata flying directly underneath Kageyama so their feathers brush when they move and with just a tilt of the head they can see each other there. It's safe; comfortable.

For the forest, fall is like an ending, or a transition into an ending, before the winter really takes its toll before the New Year; Kageyama can see it all around them in the fallen leaves and the empty streams. He manages to catch one small fish in his claws, there, which he feeds to Hinata, but there's little else to be found. 

They're taking in the scenery, mostly, in the lowlight of a harvest moon that illuminates everything in an orange glow and amongst the stars which allow them to navigate against the silhouettes of the leafless trees.

It's empty, maybe - almost dead, or dying, but Kageyama doesn't feel sad. Fall just means summer's over and it's not hot any more, and in a little while, Spring will come back and bring life back with it, and when they return here, everything will be lush and green again.

"Kageyama," Hinata says, and it's soft enough to make Kageyama tilt his head down to nuzzle his mate, even mid-flight. "I'm not worried." Is all Hinata says, but it's comforting; they stop for a while to peck and smooch softly, alleviating any other worry or stress or fear. "I'll be safe as long as you're around." 

Kageyama ducks his head, but he's grateful. He loves Hinata, so much. Of course he'll keep the small, fluffy, orange-headed bird safe; it's all he lives for. Hinata makes him strong. "Of course you will be, idiot." Is what he says out loud, but by his scoff, he thinks Hinata knows what he means.

"Let's go home." Hinata urges, tapping their beaks together a last time before he flaps off, in that clumsy way he does.

It warms Kageyama's heart up in a way that makes the cold breeze hardly matter. Even with winter approaching, Kageyama feels - hot, kind of, but in a good way, like he's glowing alongside the moon.

As long as they're together, Kageyama knows everything will be fine. For them, for their children, for their future. "I love you." He whispers, softly, when he thinks Hinata's out of earshot, the fondness overwhelming in his chest.

The resounding "I love you too!" that echoes through the trees tells him he wasn't out of earshot enough, but Kageyama finds that he doesn't really mind.


	4. Winter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The endn

Kageyama remembers the winter they met.

He'd snuggled up to Hinata in much the same way now, a warm head pressed into his neck like it had in that cold, bitter time all those years ago, when they'd only just learnt what love is, only just realised they needed each other.

Kageyama had always been - a lone wolf, so to say. He hadn't wanted to be out of necessity - his old murder hadn't liked him, not much, and his older siblings were quick to tease, to bully, to take food from him, to call him selfish when he tried to keep it to himself, when he tried to do anything by himself.

In a way he supposes it was true then - if someone couldn't support the weight of a murder on their back, what use was there in being there in the first place? A clan like that is no place for weaklings who can't hunt properly.

Weaklings like Hinata.

It had been freezing when he met Hinata. Both were alone - Hinata out of an impulsive desire to be out on adventures, despite his lack of real skill outside of flying fast and quick reflexes, Kageyama exiled from the comfort of a communal nest. This barn - the one where they'd made a winter home - was where they had first met.

It's a safe place. It's warm and airy, like a summer nest would be, with plenty of nesting material. There's no better place for a bird than a barn at this time of year, not to mention the fact that there's room to fly and other smaller, edible creatures think it has the same benefits.

That's how it had been back then - "I saw it first, dumbass!" had been the classy, romantic first words Kageyama had said to his to-be life partner, as he attempted to forcefully remove Hinata from the hidey-hole he'd made himself comfortable in.

"Can't we just share it?" The small, oddly-coloured crow whined. Kageyama had been sure that was inconvenient - the tips of the little bird's wings were tinged with an auburn, the rest of him paler than the average crow, to the point where he stood out like a sore thumb at any time of day, hiding in the shadows or not.

"You won't survive the winter," Kageyama had spat coldly, spreading his wings and near screeching his words at the defenceless thing. "I'm only speeding up the process, idiot! Get out of here!"

He'd believed it too - a genetic failure like that couldn't hunt properly, couldn't escape predators. He'd die within a year, Kageyama was certain. There wasn't any point in cohabiting with a lost cause like that, but Hinata was stubborn.

"Just one night." The crow had pleaded, his feathers all puffed up so he looked bigger. "Just one night and I'll go away! Don't give up on me just because I'm small!"

Kageyama instinctively nuzzled into the head of his mate, feeling, all of a sudden, immensely protective. It still held true - Hinata wasn't skilled, he was small, his camouflage was poor. Without a murder - he'd never survive. The only difference between now and then - Kageyama would never let anything bad happen to the most important bird to him. By himself, surely he couldn't survive - but with Kageyama, nothing could hurt him.

"You can't expect me to feed you, dumbass!" Kageyama had growled the following day, when Hinata had hopped around him expectantly after he returned from his hunt. "Besides. You said one night - it's been one night. Get lost!"

Hinata had puffed up again - Kageyama assumed it was to make up for his horrific lack in size, he was smaller than a girl for god's sake - and fluttered off, looking like he had something to prove. In Kageyama's experience, that never did bode well.

There's another benefit to living in a barn that Kageyama hasn't mentioned, though - it goes by the name of Kenma. Kenma kept other birds away, and Kenma didn't eat all of his dinner, and Kenma is Hinata's best friend.

Kageyama had learnt that the hard way - when Hinata had returned within hours, much to Kageyama's anger, with a large mouthful of literally just meat and refused to share any (and it smelled delicious, too) and threatened to have Kenma eat him.

Kenma almost did eat him, if he'd cared enough to actually go through with it beyond batting a large paw through the entrance to the hidey-hole.

At first, Kageyama had been understandably terrified. Cats eat birds. It's common knowledge. They climb trees and attack nests and kill birds and eat them, and Kageyama was not, at any time that winter, prepared to be eaten. In his fear he wasn't even prepared to let Hinata be eaten, and as any valiant warrior would, he did his best to try and scare off the cat and protect his nest. it was the first time he's thought of Hinata as, well, his, something that was his to protect and own and care for.

"Ah, hi, Kenma!" It had been pointless. "This is Kageyama! The one I told you about! You can eat him if you want. He's mean."

Having a nestmate that was friends with a cat wasn't all bad, though. Kageyama could guarantee as long as he stayed on Hinata's good side and shared his meals, he wouldn't get eaten by Hinata's best cat friend, and Hinata would share the leftovers from Kenma's dinner bowl.

It was a blizzard the night Kageyama fell in love, too.

Arguably he'd been falling in love for a while - once Hinata became, quote unquote, useful to Kageyama, he became... Kind of nice to have around. A constant presence to make up for the emptiness Kageyama hadn't even realised he felt from his exile. Hinata was bubbly, kind to a point, a good challenge - he'd never known any bird to be so willing to fly for so long and so fast with him, and keep up - and warm to be around.

Kageyama knows his retrospect kind of exacerbates the good qualities, but he does remember being in love. During blizzards, there's not much that can be done. Everywhere is cold no matter what you do; the best the two of them could do, between them, was snuggle up as close as possible.

"What're you gonna do after winter?" Hinata had asked in a soft sleepy voice that never failed to melt Kageyama's heart, even now.

"Go back to the forest, I guess." Kageyama had grunted, noncommittally. He wasn't really welcome back home, back in Aoba Jousai territory, but where else would he go? If he stayed on the outskirts, maybe...

"We could stay together," Hinata had suggested softly. "I've never had more fun than when I've been with you, even if you're grumpy and mean sometimes."

"You won't survive the summer." Kageyama said, kind of sadly. The thought that the little bird he'd spend the lonely winter with wouldn't be around to keep him company again next year kind of hurt, pulled at something in his heart that he couldn't describe.

"That's what you said before, about winter." Hinata's raised his voice, but he didn't sound too angry. Determined, maybe. "And I'm doing it, aren't I? I'm surviving the winter?"

"...yeah. Because I've been here." Kageyama scoffed, turning his head away. He couldn't admit his attachment to the smaller bird - he would only a burden to him in coming years.

"And I'll survive the summer with you there! Aren't you lonely by yourself?" Hinata chased him, refusing to let him take the warmth away. The nuzzle of the smaller head into his neck had swayed him - the other was so affectionate, so warm, so kind, so adorable, how could Kageyama leave him for dead?

"It's weird," he tried instead, "We're both guys. We can't raise our own murder."

"I don't really care." Hinata seemed happy as Kageyama moved his head back to cover Hinata's own, leaning up to coo into his chin. "I like you, and I want to stay with you. That's not bad, is it?"

"No," Kageyama conceded, nipping the top of Hinata's head, where his feathers were palest and the Orange-tips were most prominent. "I like you too, idiot."

Kageyama cooed at the memory, stretching out a wing and allowing it to fall over the slumbering body of his most important friend. The tips of his wings brushed against the bird-lump their children had learned to form to keep warm - the small space of the hidey-hole seemed even smaller with four adult-sized crows plus Hinata living in it, but against the fierce cold of the blizzard...

Kageyama didn't feel the cold any more.

**Author's Note:**

> why did i write about birds


End file.
